Botcaves

Botcaves

Botcaves was a workshop held in November 2014 investigating bots and the relation between their programmed, yet autonomous behaviour (software) and their physicalities (hardware embedded in objects) as well as the potential relation these small situated technologies would maintain with global scale cloud infrastructures.

Students designed and developed bots who took part in online activities. In some cases the bots were using electronic sensors as an input, while in other cases they used online data and expressed it using robotics.

The final results were presented at the end of the week.

The process and the results are documented on the IICloud’s blog: iiclouds.org

Workshop (2015)

Know-how
Tangible Interaction, soft goods / accessories, Data visualization, Game, Installation, Electronics
Botcaves - Projects selection

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Projects related to soft goods / accessories

Malik Sobgoui – Oblique Reasoning

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Malik Sobgoui – Oblique Reasoning

with Alain Bellet, Christophe Guignard, Gaël Hugo, Laura Nieder, Pauline Saglio

Nowadays, almost all of us have adopted the unconscious reflex of pulling out our smartphone when we are faced with some form of loneliness or passivity. Hence, it has become difficult for us to cope with waiting without the help of our cell phones. The aim of Oblique Reasoning is to invite users to question notions of attention economy and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) while offering, in the manner of Oblique Strategies, reflections and alternatives. By recording unread notifications and quantifying them in units of time, this portable device offers us the possibility to step back and rethink our relationship with the smartphone.

Iris Moine – Twist

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Iris Moine – Twist

with Alain Bellet, Christophe Guignard, Gaël Hugo, Laura Nieder, Pauline Saglio

Twist was thought out as part of the upcoming industrial design exhibition at mudac - Musée cantonal de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains. The aim of this project is to engage children’s curiosity about design, for whom the idea of visiting a museum is often not the most exciting. How can we encourage a stimulating visit and discovery of the exhibits? By bringing out an object from the exhibition, the Bold chair by Big-Game studio, this project transforms it into an interactive installation. Guided by a character on screen, children are invited to interact with certain parts of the chair: sitting, pinching, turning, etc. These interactions trigger games, and information is presented in a playful way, thus creating a direct and memorable relationship with the object and raising awareness of design.

Evan Kelly – Invisible Network

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Evan Kelly – Invisible Network

with Alain Bellet, Christophe Guignard, Gaël Hugo, Laura Nieder, Pauline Saglio

Invisible Network is a portable device that makes the invisible and autonomous communications of machines perceptible and tangible. The way they interact with each other is akin to the modes of human communication, thus creating a real social network of machines. This device mediates between users and the machines around them. Via the screen it transmits fragments of its continuous and silent communications in the form of human social metaphors.

Nora Fatehi – Mirror Me-rror

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Nora Fatehi – Mirror Me-rror

with Alain Bellet, Christophe Guignard, Gaël Hugo, Laura Nieder, Pauline Saglio

In an environment where the line between digital and tangible is becoming increasingly thin, having an existence in immaterial spaces implies shaping and maintaining an avatar that is often created in one’s own image. Living in these in-between worlds inevitably leads to the development of a more or less strong connection with one’s own digital representations. This is notably the case of my own avatar, with whom I share more than just a well-defined clothing style.  In Mirror Me-rror, she and I become one. By using my physical and digital data to influence her abilities as my “virtual self”, I find myself constantly connected to her. With this project, I question the relationship that each of us nurtures with our digital identities and offer a gamified perspective of our own lives.

When Objects Dream

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

When Objects Dream

with Alain Bellet, Cyril Diagne, Vincent Jacquier, Florian Pittet (Sigmasix), Pauline Saglio, Eric Morzier (Sigmasix)

Do objects sometimes dream about themselves? What if we could enter their dreams? Virtual reality? Connected objects? On the occasion of the Milan International Furniture Fair 2016, the ECAL students of the Bachelor Media and Interaction Design present a collection of interactive experiments.

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